East Germany: End of a Concept

With a sudden surge, the members of
East Germany's Volkskammer (People's Chamber) sprang to their feet. As
the country's Communist ruler, spike-bearded Walter Ulbricht, 73,
looked on, the 434 Deputies thus signaled their unanimous approval of a
new law that aims at making the division of Germany a spiritual as well
as a physical reality. Into East Germany's law books last week went a
statute giving the 17 million people under Ulbricht's rule a new
citizenship in "the first peace-loving, democratic, socialist German
state."

Until now, even though West Germany and East Germany issued separate
passports to their citizens, the...